Hi All!
First of all, hope you all are doing great despite the pandemic!
It's my first time here on this platform and I have a list of questions with regards to candle making, using 464 Soy Wax in hot & humid weather.
I'm from Singapore and the country is located near the equator and has a typically tropical climate all year round. In addition to the tropical climate, Singapore has high humidity as well.
I have been experimenting with candles for 6 months now (still experimenting) & recently decided to work with 464 due to the excellent HT, as described by the company i purchased the wax from.
Through testing, I noticed the following:
1) The HT isn't great. I used 10% fragrance load & I bought the scents from Candle Science
2) The wax is extremely soft, even after curing it for 1 week
3) The wax looks horrible after each burn, leaving the top look like planet mars
Measures I have taken to make my candles:
1) Given the humid weather, I turned the AC to cool the room temperature
2) I burn the wax up to 185F, add the fragrance oil immediately and then pour the wax into my container jars at 150F to obtain smooth tops
3) I add 10% pure coconut wax to help increase the HT, but i read some forum stating that coconut wax will make the wax softer than before
4) I cleaned the jars beforehand to ensure that the wax adheres to the glass (it works!)
Questions:
1) Given that i live in a hot & humid weather, should i add additives such as stearic acid to make the wax a little bit harder? I heard adding stearic acid will decrease the HT Please advise if this is indeed true!
2) Do you recommend using 444 soy wax as i heard that it's a better option for summer weather?
3) Lastly, are there any methods to ensure that the 464 soy wax candle looks good after burning?
Thank you in advance people & stay safe!